This article is part of a directory: Palworld Guide Hub - Tips, Base Building, Best Pals, & More

There are plenty of Pals to find even in the early stages of Palworld, but not all of them are made equal. These Pals aren't necessarily bad, but when you compare them to some of the better options you can find, they become a little redundant or just straight up unnecessary. In this Palworld guide, we'll be sharing with you our picks for the best early game Pals so you can have a better idea of which ones you should be catching first.

Eikthyrdeer

  • Neutral element Pal that's good for combat and base tasks
  • Can be used as a mount
  • Great for automated wood collection early

Out of all the early game Pals in Palworld, Eikthyrdeer is the one I recommend most. Not only can they serve as mounts that can handle most overworld threats, but they can also sustain your early economy by efficiently working Logging Stations. Eikthyrdeers have level 2 Logging, making them better than most other Pals at getting wood for you in Palworld.

Once you craft the right saddle, you can ride your Eikthyrdeer to battle and use their Pal Skills to bully most enemies in the first few starting regions. If you're getting whooped by Syndicate members, bosses, or strong Pals in the overworld, just mount an Eikthyrdeer and give them a taste of hit-and-run tactics.

Nitewing

  • Early game flying companion (can be mounted)
  • Decent Neutral element fighter, but better suited for exploration

Nitewing is the first flying mount players can get in Palworld, and getting one can be a massive quality of life improvement for your overall exploration experience. You can find these guys up on the hills and cliffs of the zone directly west of the Small Settlement. From the starting area, simple head west until you start seeing large numbers of Woolipops, Direhowls, and Eikthyrdeers. Nitewings will be in the skies above them.

Much like the other mountable Pals, you'll need the correct Pal Gear to mount a Nitewing. In this case, unlock the Nitewing Saddle from the tech tree (it'll only appear after you've caught a Nitewing), then craft it at your base. The saddle will go to your Key Items inventory, and you'll be able to mount any Nitewing in your party from now on.

Daedream

  • Dark Element Pal that hovers over your shoulder when in the party
  • Daedream will attack enemies that you hit, even if you've summoned a different Pal

Normally, players can only have one Pal accompanying them at a time while exploring. Daedreams don't care about this rule, because their passive ability lets them hover around your character even if you've summoned a different Pal. While they're hovering around you, they'll attack any enemies that you do, increasing your overall damage output. If you craft a Daedream Necklace, you can have multiple Daedreams orbiting you at the same time, and they'll all attack whoever you're attacking.

You can find Daedreams around the hills of the starting area, but they only appear at night. Thankfully, their nocturnal behavior won't get in the way once you actually do catch them.

Foxparks

  • Fire Element Pal that can be used as a flamethrower with the Huggy Fire Partner Skill
  • One of the very few early game Pals that can take on Kindling tasks

Foxparks is the first Fire-type Pal players will encounter in Palworld, and when leveled up, these little fellas can be an absolute manace, especially against anything that's weak to Fire damage. You can pair a Foxparks with Daedreams for max DPS, your you can strap a saddle harness over them and use them as a flamethrower via their Huggy Fire Partner Skill. This is very strong early on, but it has a 100-second cooldown in between uses.

Apart from melting down enemies, Foxparkses are good enough for basic Kindling tasks, though there are some other Pals that are far better at working fire-related jobs in your base (one of them's down below).

Incineram

  • Dark/Fire-type Pal with excellent combat and base-related parameters
  • Outside of combat, Incineram works best as a dedicated miner/smelter

Unlike the puny Foxparks, Incinerams are satyr-like Pals that use both Fire and Dark attacks, which lets them counter two different Pal types at once when given the right skills. You can't use these guys as weapons, but you don't have to, as Incinerams are already pretty deadly by themselves. To make things even better, they have level 3 Kindling and level 2 Mining skills, making them very good Pals to have at your bases.

Incinerams are normally found in one of Palworld's late-game areas, but there's one spot in the western early game zone where you can find a Syndicate Thug that summons an Incineram for combat. You can capture their Incineram for yourself, and you can get as many of them as you want by returning to this area after you defeat the thugs.

Herbil

  • Decent Grass/Ground-type Pal with the ability to revive incapacitated players
  • Handles Planting, Gathering, and Transporting tasks at home

Herbils may be cute and cuddly, but they pack a punch that's strong enough to literally reset your heart. These Grass-type Pals work well enough in combat against most early game threats, but what makes them so appealing is their ability to revive incapacitated players. If you're playing Palworld on a higher difficulty, then you're definitely going to want to keep a Herbil in your party.

You can find Herbils in the vicinity of the Rayne Syndicate tower during daytime. Check the slopes and the grassy areas near the tower.

Clovee

  • Grass/Neutral-type Pal suited for Planting and Gathering
  • Passively increases the Gathering level for all base Pals while at a base

You can find Clovees right where the Herbils are near the Rayne Syndicate tower, and unlike those buff rodents, these guys are a lot less violent. Their passive ability increases the Gathering level of every Pal in your base, making them more efficient when it's time to harvest the contents of your farming plots. I always have at least one Clovee in each of my bases since they're also pretty handy at farming.

I wouldn't really bother bringing a Clovee to a fight, but even so, they're some of the best early game Pals in Palworld simply because of the base-wide buff they provide.

Rushoar

  • Neutral Element Pal that's good at disrupting enemies with charge attacks
  • Can be used as a battering ram for breaking stone and mineral nodes

If you've ever been hit by Rushoar before, then you should know exactly how good they are at tossing people around with their bull rush attack. However, that's not the reason why I'm recommending them on this list. It's actually because of their ability to very quickly break stone and mineral nodes. Once you build a Rushoar Saddle, you can mount Rushoars and use their charge attack to slam into big rocks, breaking them apart and giving you big chunks of useful materials.

If you want to gather some Ores using a Rushoar, consider bringing a Turtacle with you. They'll reduce the weight of Ores by 80%. You can find Turtacles along the beach east of the Small Settlement (you can find some in dungeons too).

Palworld Tag Page Cover Art

Palworld
Open-World
Shooter
Survival
Systems
PC-1 Playstation Logo Xbox-1
Top Critic Avg: 77/100 Critics Rec: 75%
Released
July 10, 2026
ESRB
T For Teen Due To Violence
Developer(s)
Pocket Pair, Inc.
Publisher(s)
Pocket Pair, Inc.

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
GGMods Mods

Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play
Xbox Series X|S, pc
Cross Save
yes
Number of Players
1-4 (Co-Op); 32 Players Server Limit
Steam Deck Compatibility
yes
Early Access Release
January 19, 2024
PC Release Date
July 10, 2026
Xbox Series X|S Release Date
July 10, 2026
PS5 Release Date
July 10, 2026
Genre(s)
Open-World, Shooter, Survival
OpenCritic Rating
Strong
How Long To Beat
36 Hours
X|S Optimized
Yes
File Size Xbox Series
6 GB (February 2024)